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COMMERCE, Ga., April 24 - For the U.S. Army NHRA drag racing team here this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, it will be a story of trying to break though on one end of the spectrum, while holding the line on the other end.
Despite having totaled 36 wins over his career, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, is still seeking his first victory at Atlanta Dragway.
In Pro Stock Motorcycles, U.S. Army pilots Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown will be trying to build on an eight-year span that has seen the pair swipe a combined six victories at the historic facility.
Top Fuel
Atlanta Dragway is one of five tracks that Schumacher has failed to conquer since he turned pro in 1996. The others are Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. and Virginia Motorsports Park outside of Richmond.
"I can't explain it either," said the Chicago native. "As is often said, though, there's a first time for everything. We managed to get to victory lane in St. Louis last year for the first time ever, so maybe it will be our year at Atlanta Dragway this season."
Schumacher does have a final round appearance to his credit at the Southern Nationals - in 2000. He also holds the track record for elapsed time (4.448-seconds) and speed (331.28 mph), both set last year.
"The Southern Nationals is one of the NHRA's long-established events, so every team wants to win one at some point," added the defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel
world champion. "Of course, our goal every race is to simply win for the soldiers. We owe that to all of the hard-working men and women who are fighting for our freedom."
Schumacher heads for Atlanta Dragway holding fourth-place in the Top Fuel standings, 79 points behind leader, Rod Fuller.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
While Schumacher has struggled over the years at Atlanta Dragway, both Sampey and Brown have enjoyed the annual trip to the Peachtree State.
Sampey has claimed four wins (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004) at the 30-year-old track with Brown registering two (2004 and 2006).
"We do have a pretty solid record together down there," said Sampey. "We'll certainly be attempting to add another victory to the pile this weekend."
"I like racing at Atlanta Dragway," offered Brown. "It's actually one of the tougher events to win on the tour given what can be some challenging weather conditions."
After winning in Houston three weeks ago, Sampey will carry the point lead into the Southern Nationals, while Brown is fighting to bust into the top eight in the standings.
"It's nice to be number one, but we still have a long way to go," said Sampey, a three-time NHRA POWERade world champion. "We have to keep improving with every race."
"As a team, we're going to keep moving forward," emphasized Brown.
"Personally, I want to have a good run this weekend so I can rise up in the points and battle Angelle for the top spot."
ESPN2 will air qualifying highlights of the Southern Nationals on Saturday (7-8p.m. EDT) and then will provide tape-delayed race day coverage on Sunday (7-10 p.m. EDT).
SCHUMACHER EYES FIRST WIN AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
SAMPEY, BROWN LOOK TO MAINTAIN SUCCESS
COMMERCE, Ga., April 24 - For the U.S. Army NHRA drag racing team here this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, it will be a story of trying to break though on one end of the spectrum, while holding the line on the other end.
Despite having totaled 36 wins over his career, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, is still seeking his first victory at Atlanta Dragway.
In Pro Stock Motorcycles, U.S. Army pilots Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown will be trying to build on an eight-year span that has seen the pair swipe a combined six victories at the historic facility.
Top Fuel
Atlanta Dragway is one of five tracks that Schumacher has failed to conquer since he turned pro in 1996. The others are Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. and Virginia Motorsports Park outside of Richmond.
"I can't explain it either," said the Chicago native. "As is often said, though, there's a first time for everything. We managed to get to victory lane in St. Louis last year for the first time ever, so maybe it will be our year at Atlanta Dragway this season."
Schumacher does have a final round appearance to his credit at the Southern Nationals - in 2000. He also holds the track record for elapsed time (4.448-seconds) and speed (331.28 mph), both set last year.
"The Southern Nationals is one of the NHRA's long-established events, so every team wants to win one at some point," added the defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel
world champion. "Of course, our goal every race is to simply win for the soldiers. We owe that to all of the hard-working men and women who are fighting for our freedom."
Schumacher heads for Atlanta Dragway holding fourth-place in the Top Fuel standings, 79 points behind leader, Rod Fuller.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
While Schumacher has struggled over the years at Atlanta Dragway, both Sampey and Brown have enjoyed the annual trip to the Peachtree State.
Sampey has claimed four wins (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004) at the 30-year-old track with Brown registering two (2004 and 2006).
"We do have a pretty solid record together down there," said Sampey. "We'll certainly be attempting to add another victory to the pile this weekend."
"I like racing at Atlanta Dragway," offered Brown. "It's actually one of the tougher events to win on the tour given what can be some challenging weather conditions."
After winning in Houston three weeks ago, Sampey will carry the point lead into the Southern Nationals, while Brown is fighting to bust into the top eight in the standings.
"It's nice to be number one, but we still have a long way to go," said Sampey, a three-time NHRA POWERade world champion. "We have to keep improving with every race."
"As a team, we're going to keep moving forward," emphasized Brown.
"Personally, I want to have a good run this weekend so I can rise up in the points and battle Angelle for the top spot."
ESPN2 will air qualifying highlights of the Southern Nationals on Saturday (7-8p.m. EDT) and then will provide tape-delayed race day coverage on Sunday (7-10 p.m. EDT).
